    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 30, 2004]
    [Pages 2841-2849]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Grand Rapids, Michigan
    October 30, 2004

        The President. Thank you all for coming. Thanks for taking time out
    of your Saturday morning to come by and say hello. Laura and I are honored to be back in western

    [[Page 2842]]

    Michigan. You've lifted our spirits. We're proud to be in a home of a
    fine former President, President Gerald Ford, and a great First Lady in Betty Ford. I know you honor their service to our country, as
    do Laura and I. We're here to ask for your vote, and I'm here to ask for
    your help.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. We're close to voting time. We have a duty in our
    country to vote. In our free society, we have an obligation, I think, to
    go to the polls and express our opinions. So I'm here to ask you to
    convince your friends and neighbors to do their duty. Make sure our
    fellow Republicans go to the polls. Make sure independents go to the
    polls. Make sure discerning Democrats go to the polls. And when you get
    them headed to the polls, remind them, if they want a safer America and
    a stronger America and a better America, to put me and Dick
    Cheney back in office.
        I enjoy traveling our country. I enjoy talking to the people. I love
    to tell the people what I am going to do for the next 4 years. Perhaps
    the most important reason to put me in, though, is to make sure
    Laura is the First Lady for 4 more years.
        Audience members. Laura! Laura! Laura!
        The President. I am proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I readily concede he does not have the waviest hair in
    this race. [Laughter] But I know the people of western Michigan will be
    pleased to hear I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I picked him
    because of his judgment. I picked him because of his experience. He's
    getting the job done for the American people.
        I want to thank my friend Betsy DeVos
    for her leadership and her community spirit. I want to thank the DeVos
    family for joining us today.
        I want to thank my friend Congressman Peter Hoekstra for joining us today. Pete, I'm glad you're here; his
    wife, Diane, is here; other family members
    are here. I look forward to working with the chairman of a really
    important committee to make sure our intelligence gathering works, to
    make sure America can stay secure. Appreciate your service, Pete. I want
    to thank Congressman Vern Ehlers for
    joining us today. Congressman, we're proud you're here. Thank you for
    representing this district with such distinction and honor.
        I want to thank the attorney general, Mike Cox,
    and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land for
    joining us.
        I want to thank all the local and State officials who are here. I
    want to thank all the people who have thrown their hat in the ring and
    are running for office.
        I want to thank the Sparta High School Marching Band for joining us
    today, the Western Michigan Home School Northern Lights Marching Band. I
    want to thank Daron Norwood for singing for
    you today. He's good, isn't he?
        But most of all, I want to thank you all and the grassroots
    activists, the people putting up the signs, the people making the phone
    calls. I know how much work it requires to get a crowd this big, and I
    thank you for what you have done. I want to thank you for what you're
    going to do. You're going to turn out a big vote in western Michigan,
    and we'll carry this State on November 2d.
        This election takes place in a time of great consequence. The person
    who sits in the Oval Office for the next 4 years will set the course of
    the war on terror and the direction of our economy. America will need
    strong, determined, optimistic leadership, and I'm ready for the work
    ahead.
        My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and taught
    me some new lessons. I've learned to expect the unexpected, because war
    and emergency can arrive on a quiet autumn morning. I've learned
    firsthand how hard it is to send young men and women into battle, even
    when the cause is right. I've been grateful for the lesson I've learned
    from my parents, respect every person and do your best and live every
    day to its fullest. I've been

    [[Page 2843]]

    strengthened by my faith and humbled by its reminder that every life is
    a part of a larger story. I've learned how a President needs to lead, as
    Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated.
        A President must not shift in the wind. A President has to make
    tough decisions and stand by them. The role of the American President is
    not to follow the path of the latest polls. The role of the President is
    to lead based upon principle and conviction and conscience. Especially
    in dangerous times, mixed signals only confuse our friends and embolden
    our enemies. Mixed signals are the wrong signals for the American
    President to send.
        The last 4 years, Americans have learned a few things about me as
    well. Sometimes, I'm a little too blunt. [Laughter] I get that from my
    mother. [Laughter] Sometimes I mangle the
    English language. I get that from my father. [Laughter] But Americans have learned also that even
    when you might not agree with me, you know where I stand. You know what
    I believe, and you know where I'm going to lead.
        You cannot say that about my opponent.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I think it's fair to say, consistency is not
    his long suit. And next Tuesday, the American
    people will go to the polls. They will be voting for vision. They will
    be voting for consistency. They will be voting for conviction. And no
    doubt in my mind,* they'll be voting for Bush/Cheney.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        This election comes down to five clear choices for the American
    people. The first clear choice is the most important because it concerns
    the security of your family. All progress on every other issue depends
    on the safety of our citizens. The will--this will be the first
    Presidential election since September the 11th, 2001. Americans will go
    to the polls in a time of war and ongoing threats unlike any we have
    faced before. The terrorists who killed thousands of innocent people are
    still dangerous, and they are determined. The outcome of this election
    will set the direction of the war against terror. The most solemn duty
    of the American President is to protect the American people. If America
    shows any uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will drift
    toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
        Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we have
    fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for pride, not for power but
    because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear.
    We have strengthened protections for the homeland. We're reforming and
    strengthening our intelligence services. We are transforming our
    military. There will be no draft. The All-Volunteer Army will remain an
    all-volunteer army. We are determined. We are steadfast. We are staying
    on the offensive against the terrorists across the globe so we do not
    have to face them here at home.
        Our strategy is succeeding. As the September the 11th Commission
    pointed out, we are safer but not yet safe. But because we led,
    Afghanistan is a free nation and now an ally in the war on terror.
    Because we led, Pakistan is capturing terrorists; Saudi Arabia is making
    raids and arrests; Libya is dismantling its weapons programs; the army
    of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom; and more than three-quarters of
    Al Qaida's key members and associates have been brought to justice.
        And part of our strategy to make sure our children and our
    grandchildren grow up in a peaceful world is to spread freedom. I
    believe in the transformational power of liberty. I believe liberty can
    transform societies.
        Think about what has happened in Afghanistan in a relatively brief
    period of time. It wasn't all that long ago that young girls were not
    allowed to go to school and their mothers were taken into the public
    square and whipped because of these

    [[Page 2844]]

    ideologues of hate called the Taliban. Because we acted in our own self-
    interest, because we acted to uphold a doctrine I outlined which said,
    ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the
    terrorist,'' because we acted to secure the American people, millions of
    citizens voted in a Presidential election in Afghanistan. And the first
    voter was a 19-year-old woman.
        Despite the horrific acts of the terrorists in Iraq, there are going
    to be free elections in Iraq in January. And think how far that country
    has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves. Freedom is
    on the march. Freedom is on the move around the world, and that's
    important. Free societies will be peaceful societies. Free societies
    will join us in fighting the terrorists instead of harboring the
    terrorists. I believe every soul wants to be free in this world. Freedom
    is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift
    to each man and woman in this world.
        A President must lead this country with consistency and strength. In
    a war, sometimes your tactics change but never your principles.
    Americans have seen how I do my job. On good days and on bad days, when
    the polls are up or the polls are down, I am determined to protect this
    country. And I will always support the men and women who wear our
    Nation's uniform. I am proud to be the Commander in Chief of a great
    military, and I want to thank those who wear our uniform for your
    service to our country. I want to thank the military families who are
    here, for your sacrifice and service. And I want to thank the veterans
    who are here who have set such a great example for those who wear the
    uniform. And I will assure you, in a new term, I will keep the
    commitment I have made to support our troops in harm's way.
        I went to the Congress in September of 2003, asking for $87 billion
    to support our troops in combat. It was very important funding. We got
    great support--Pete might remember--overwhelming bipartisan support.
    Only 12 Members of the United States Senate voted against it, 2 of whom
    were my opponent and his runningmate. I want you----
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. When you're out gathering up the vote, remind people
    of this statistic, this fact: Four Members of the Senate voted to
    authorize force and then voted against the funding necessary to support
    our troops in harm's way, two of whom--two of those four--were my
    opponent and his runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You might remember what he
    said when they asked him about why he made the vote. Senator Kerry said,
    ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I voted against it.'' I
    haven't spent nearly as much time in this part of the world as you have,
    but I can assure you, you're not going to find many people in Grand
    Rapids, Michigan, who talks that way.
        You know, he's given several answers on
    that vote since then. Perhaps the most revealing of all was when he just
    said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' My fellow Americans,
    there's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
        My opponent has had a propensity to change
    positions in this campaign. His positions are like the weather here in
    western Michigan. [Laughter] You don't like it, wait a little bit, and
    it will change.
        Senator Kerry said that we're better off
    with Saddam Hussein out of power, except when
    he declares that removing Saddam Hussein made us less safe. He stated in
    our second debate he always believed Saddam was a threat--except, a few
    questions later, when he said Saddam Hussein was not a threat. He says
    he was right when he voted to authorize the use of force against Saddam
    Hussein, but I was wrong to use force against Saddam Hussein.

    [[Page 2845]]

        His record on national security has a far
    deeper problem than election-year flip-flops. One of the largest
    national security issues of our time--on the largest national issues of
    our time, he has been consistently wrong. When Ronald Reagan was
    confronting the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, Senator
    Kerry said that President Reagan's policy of peace through strength was
    making America less safe. Well, history has shown that Senator Kerry was
    wrong and President Reagan was right.
        When former President Bush led a
    coalition against Saddam Hussein in 1991,
    Senator Kerry voted against the use of force
    to liberate Kuwait. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and
    former President Bush was right.
        In 1994, just one year after the first bombing of the World Trade
    Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in
    America's budget, so massive that even his Massachusetts colleague, Ted
    Kennedy, opposed them. History has shown
    that Senator Kerry was wrong and--let's be fair about it--Senator
    Kennedy was right.
        During the last 20 years, in key moments of challenge and decision,
    Senator Kerry has chosen the path of weakness
    and inaction. With that record, he stands in opposition not just to me
    but to the great tradition of the Democratic Party. The party of
    Franklin Roosevelt, the party of Harry Truman, the party of John Kennedy
    is rightly remembered for confidence and resolve in times of war and in
    hours of crisis. Senator Kerry has turned his back on ``pay any price''
    and ``bear any burden,'' and he has replaced those commitments with
    ``wait and see'' and ``cut and run.''
        Many Democrats in this country do not recognize their party anymore,
    and today, I want to speak to every one of them. If you believe that
    America should lead with strength and purpose and confidence in our
    ideals, I would be honored to have your support, and I am asking for
    your vote.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. There are big differences in this campaign when it
    comes to your family's security. Senator Kerry
    said that America must submit to what he calls a ``global test.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I'm not making that up. He
    said it in a debate. I was surprised, like you were. [Laughter] As far
    as I can tell, it means our country must get permission from foreign
    capitals before we act in our own defense. I will work with our allies.
    I will strengthen our alliances. I will work with our friends, but I
    will never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of
    other countries.
        We have a difference of opinion. My opponent was quoted as saying that September the 11th did not
    change him much at all. His policies make that clear. He says the war on
    terror is primarily a law enforcement and intelligence gathering
    operation. September the 11th changed my outlook. I remember the day I
    went to the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. The
    sights and sounds will be with me forever. I remember the workers in
    hardhats yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.''
    I remember looking the man square in the eye who came out of the rubble.
    He grabbed me by my arm, and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since
    that day, I wake up every morning trying to better figure out how to
    better protect America. I will never relent in defending our country,
    whatever it takes.
        The second clear choice in this election concerns your family's
    budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower taxes
    for America's families. I kept my word. We doubled the child credit to
    $1,000 per child. We reduced the marriage penalty. We think the Tax Code
    ought to encourage marriage, not penalize marriage. We dropped the
    lowest bracket to 10 percent. We reduced income taxes for everybody who
    pays taxes. Our plans are working.

    [[Page 2846]]

        When you round up the vote, remind people about what this economy
    has been through. Six months prior to my arrival in Washington, the
    stock market was in serious decline. Then we had a recession. Then we
    had corporate scandals. And then the attacks of September the 11th cost
    us a million jobs in the 3 months after those attacks.
        But our economic policies have led us back to growth. This economy
    of ours is growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We've
    added 1.9 million new jobs in the last 13 months. The national
    unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. That's lower than the average rate of
    the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. Homeownership rate is at an alltime
    high in America. More minority families own their own home, and that's
    better for our country. Michigan farmers are making a living. The
    entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The small-business sector is alive and
    well in America.
        People are still hurting in the State of Michigan. I know that. I've
    traveled here a lot. I've heard the stories. But the fundamental
    question is, which candidate can continue to grow this economy? Who's
    got the pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-small-business plan? And
    that's George W. Bush.
        My opponent has very different plans for
    your family's budget. He intend to take a big chunk out of it.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He voted against the higher
    child tax credit. He voted against marriage penalty relief. He voted
    against reducing income taxes. If he had had his way over the past 3
    years, the average Michigan family would be paying $2,000 per year more
    to the Federal Government.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Now, I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some of
    them in Washington, but it's a lot for families right here in Grand
    Rapids. It helps moms and dads. That money helps our small businesses
    create new jobs. My opponent has been in the
    Senate for 20 years, and he's voted to raise taxes 98 times. That's
    about five times per year in the Senate. I'd call that a predictable
    pattern--[laughter]--a leading indicator. [Laughter] A Senator does
    something that often, he must really like it. [Laughter] During this
    campaign, he's also promised $2.2 trillion in Federal spending. That's
    trillion with a ``T.'' [Laughter] That's a lot. Even for a Senator from
    Massachusetts, that's a lot. [Laughter] So they asked him, ``How are you
    going to pay for it?'' He said that same old thing, you know, ``We're
    just going to tax the rich.''
        Two things wrong with that. One is, most small businesses pay
    individual income taxes. Most small businesses are sole proprietorships
    and Subchapter S corporations. Seventy percent of the new jobs in
    America are created by small businesses. So when you run up the top two
    brackets like he has promised to do, you're taxing the job creators, and
    that's lousy economic policy.
        And here's something you need to be wary about. When you talk about
    top--raising the top two brackets, you're only raising between 600 and
    800 billion dollars. I say ``only'' because he's promised 2.2 trillion. So there's a tax gap. That would be
    a gap between what he has promised and what he can deliver. And given
    his record, you probably can guess who is going to have to fill that tax
    gap. You are. But don't worry about it. We're going to carry Michigan,
    and he's not going to be able to tax you.
        The third clear choice in this election involves the quality of life
    for our Nation's families. A good education and quality health care are
    important for a successful life. As a candidate, I pledged to challenge
    the soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our public schools. As
    President, I kept my word.
        The No Child Left Behind Act is substantial reform. In return for
    extra help from the Federal Government, we now demand accountability in
    our classrooms. You

    [[Page 2847]]

    know why? Because we believe every child can learn, and we expect every
    school to teach. You cannot solve a problem until you diagnose the
    problem, and we're making diagnoses all across our country, and we're
    solving problems. Test scores are up in reading and math. We're closing
    achievement gaps for our minority students all across America. And we're
    not going to go back to the days of low standards and mediocrity in our
    classrooms.
        We'll continue to improve life for our families by making health
    care more accessible and more affordable. We will take care of the poor
    and the indigent by spreading community health centers. We will make
    sure our programs for children with--from low-income families are fully
    subscribed. We want to help people get health care.
        But we also understand we've got to make it more affordable, and
    here are three commonsense ways to do so. Small businesses ought to be
    allowed to join together to share risk, so they can buy insurance at the
    same discounts that big companies are able to do. We will expand health
    savings accounts to help our families and our small businesses better
    afford insurance and plans that enable you to manage your health care.
    And finally, we will do something about the frivolous lawsuits that are
    running good docs out of practice and running the cost of health care
    up.
        I have met too many ob-gyns in our country who are having to quit
    the practice of medicine because these lawsuits have driven their
    premiums sky-high. I've met too many expectant moms who have told me
    about their concerns about getting quality health care because their
    doctor is no longer in practice. We have a national problem when it
    comes to medical liability reform. I don't think you can be pro-patient
    and pro-doctor and pro-personal-injury-trial-lawyer at the same time. I
    think you have to make a choice. My opponent
    has made his choice. He voted 10 times against medical liability reform,
    and he put a personal-injury trial lawyer on
    the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I have made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors
    of Michigan. I'm standing with the patients of Michigan. I am for real
    medical liability reform.
        Senator Kerry's got a different point of
    view when it comes to health. You might remember one of the debates. And
    they asked him about his health care plan. He looked square in the
    camera, and he said, ``The Government doesn't have anything to do with
    it.'' I could barely contain myself. [Laughter] The Government has got a
    lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the people under his plan would end
    up on a Government-run program. When you make it easier for people to
    sign up on Medicaid, it means small businesses are likely to drop
    coverage for their employees because the Government will provide the
    coverage. People move from the private sector to the Government sector
    under his plan. And when Government writes the checks when it comes to
    health care, they start writing the rules when it comes to health care.
    And when they start writing the rules when it comes to health care, they
    start making decisions for you when it comes to your health care and
    they start making decisions for the doctors when it comes to health
    care. The wrong prescription for American families when it comes to
    their health care is to federalize health care.
        In all we do to improve health care, we will make sure the decisions
    are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, DC.
        The fourth clear choice in this election involves your retirement.
    Our Nation has made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social
    Security and Medicare. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised
    to keep that commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drug
    coverage. I have kept my word. Medicare needed to be modernized. The
    Government would pay thousands of dollars for

    [[Page 2848]]

    the heart surgery under Medicare but not a dime for the prescription
    drugs that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the
    first place. We brought people together. We strengthened and modernized
    the system. And beginning in 2006, our seniors will be able to get
    prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
        And when it comes to Social Security, we will keep the promise of
    Social Security for our seniors, and we will strengthen Social Security
    for generations to come. When you're gathering up the vote, remind your
    friends and neighbors about what took place in the 2000 campaign. They
    said by TV and by flier and by word of mouth that, ``If George W. got
    elected, our seniors would not get their checks.'' You might remember
    that aspect of the 2000 campaign. Well, George W. got elected, and our
    seniors got their checks. And our seniors will continue to get their
    checks. And baby boomers like me and a couple others out there I see, we
    will get our checks. The Social Security system is in good shape for the
    seniors and baby boomers.
        But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren when
    it comes to Social Security. We need to worry about whether or not
    Social Security will be there when they need it. And therefore, I think
    younger workers ought to be allowed to take some of their personal
    savings account--some of their payroll taxes and set up a personal
    savings account, an account they call their own, an account the
    Government cannot take away.
        My opponent has taken a different approach
    about Social Security. He told the people he's going to strengthen
    Social Security, but remind your friends and neighbors, he voted to tax
    Social Security benefits eight times.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And he hasn't offered
    anything for the younger Americans when it comes to modernizing the
    system. The job of a President is to confront problems, not to pass them
    on to future Presidents and future generations. In a new term, I will
    bring people together, and we will strengthen the Social Security system
    for generations to come.
        The fifth clear choice in this election is on the values that are
    crucial to keeping our families strong. I believe marriage and family
    are the foundation of our society. I will promote a culture of life, and
    I proudly signed the ban on partial-birth abortion. I stand for the
    appointment of Federal judges who know the difference between personal
    opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.
        My opponent and I differ. He voted against
    the ban on partial-birth abortion. He voted against the Defense of
    Marriage Act, and at one point in this campaign, he said that the heart
    and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Most families do not look to Hollywood as a source
    for values. The heart and soul of America is found in communities like
    Grand Rapids, Michigan.
        I'm optimistic about the future of our country. You know, when
    you're running for President, anger is not an agenda, and a litany of
    complaints is not a plan. I have a hopeful and positive vision. The
    President must see clearly where he intends to lead this Nation.
    Perhaps, let me define to you how I feel by quoting a friend from Texas,
    Tom Lea. Unfortunately, he's deceased recently, but here's what he said.
    He said, ``Sarah and I live on the east side of the mountain. It is the
    sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is the side to see the day that is
    coming, not to see the day that is gone.'' In the course of this
    campaign, my opponent has spent much of the
    campaign talking about the day that is gone. I'm talking about the day
    that's coming.
        I see a great day coming for our country. I see a day when
    prosperity reaches every corner of America. I see a day where every
    child is able to read and write. I see a day in which this world becomes
    more peaceful. I see a day in which we achieve

    [[Page 2849]]

    the peace we all long for, for our children and our grandchildren.
        When I campaigned across your State in 2000, I made this pledge: I
    said if I won, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of the office to
    which I had been elected. With your help, with your hard work, I will do
    so for 4 more years.
        God bless. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:55 a.m. at DeVos Place. In his remarks,
    he referred to Betsy DeVos, chairman, Michigan Republican Party;
    entertainer Daron Norwood; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.
    He also referred to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
    the United States (9/11 Commission).